Don't Say We're Not Meant To Be
by Fire Fay
Summary: A series of one shot companions for 'Love Got In The Way Of What Wasn't Meant To Be.' Includes: How Daria met the Golden Trio, and Daria and Fred's love story.
1. The one with the fireworks

_Disclaimer: I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended. Most of this chapter is taken from 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Chapter Six' except for anything pertaining to Daria. _

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**A/N: So this story is a one shot companion for 'Love Got In The Way Of What Wasn't Meant To Be'. I might add more one shots later and make them chapters in this one or just make them their own story... not sure. This part takes place during first year when Daria leaves home to go to Hogwarts. Parts of it are basically copied from the book because I wanted it to follow along nicely but I hope you enjoy the parts I added and that it doesn't seem too generic.**

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_Thump_

_Thump_

_Thump_

Daria skipped down the stairs of her house, with a huge grin on her face, dragging her trunk behind her.

Today she was leaving for her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardly and she was as giddy as... well as giddy as a schoolgirl.

She jumped off the third to the last step with a loud thud and smiled wider when she saw her mother waiting for her in the sitting room.

"I'm ready for my first day of school," Daria announced as she sat her trunk down next to her.

"Maybe once you're gone it will actually be silent around here for once," Fauna scowled, causing Daria's face to fall, "Stop slouching, you look like a Neanderthal. And is that what you're wearing? You look like a homeless muggle."

Daria frowned and stood up a little straighter as she looked down at her faded holy jeans and fitting olive green t-shirt. "I'm supposed to look like a muggle, mom. The train station is in the muggle world."

"Even muggles don't wear rags. Go upstairs and put on a skirt," her mother ordered.

Daria huffed before stomping back up the stairs to her bedroom. She dug through her nearly empty drawers and pulled out a black pleated mini skirt. She slid it on over her jeans, not bothering to take them off before she tromped back down the stairs.

Her mother rolled her eyes her before she pulled some muggle coins out of her pocket. "I refuse to set foot in the muggle word, so you can take a bus to the train station. This should be enough for bus fare."

Daria sighed as she took the money from her mother and grabbed her trunk. "Bye mom. I'll see you at Christmas."

"Toot-a-loo," Fauna waved halfheartedly at her daughter, "Don't talk to any muggles, mudbloods, or blood traiters."

Now it was Daria's turn to roll her eyes as she flung the front door open and headed down the street to the muggle bus stop, wiping away a stray tear when she was out of sight of her house. She couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts and prove that she was worth something.

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Daria made it to King's Cross Station and smiled to herself as she wandered through the crowd of muggles. She always loved how easy it was to blend in amongst them. They rarely took notice of anyone but themselves and were far too busy to care about the people around them.

She glanced down at her ticket to find out where she needed to go.

Platform 9 ¾

Sounded easy enough to find. Right between Platform 9 ½ and Platform 10.

As she pushed her way through the ocean of muggles, something caught her ears. A pounding beat that made her want to start bobbing her head.

She glanced around and spotted a group of muggle boys with a black box playing unfamiliar music. Her feet carried her toward the group before she could think twice.

She leaned over to inspect the magical black music box and cocked her head to the side. She was vaguely aware of the boys exchanging confused glances.

"What kind of music is this?" She raised an eyebrow and turned to one of the boys with brown spiky hair.

"It's American alternative rock," he replied with a half smile.

"It's wicked," Daria grinned back.

"You like it, huh?" he smirked and she nodded enthusiastically.

"I've never heard anything like it."

"Well then take this," the boy smiled and handed her a thick disk like object with a pair of attached earmuffs. Daria examined it curiously.

"How does it work?"

The boys chuckled at her before the one with spiky hair placed the earmuffs on her head and hit a button on the disk like object. Daria immediately heard the song playing through the earmuffs and grinned.

"This is amazing," she gushed, "Thank you so much."

"What's your name, baby?" the boy flashed his eyebrows flirtatiously.

She giggled, "It's Daria."

"That's a beautiful name," he smiled, "Where you headed, Daria?"

"Scotland," Daria retorted as she glanced at her watch, "And I need to go find my train."

"Well which platform do you need to go to? I'll point you in the right direction," he offered.

"Platform 9 ¾," she smiled. All the boys exchanged looks before they broke out in laughter.

Daria took this as her opportunity to leave and grabbed her trolley and magical musical earmuffs. "Thanks for the music box. It was nice meeting all of you," she waved before she hurried off in the direction of platforms 8-10.

When she got to platform nine, she furrowed her eyebrows. The only platforms she saw were platforms nine and ten. There were no fractions in sight.

_There must be a secret entrance around here somewhere so the muggles don't stumble upon it,_ she hummed to herself as she search the barriers for signs of magic, running her hand over every brick.

She laughed manically when her hand slipped right through one of the bricks, drawing the attention of quite a few muggles, who eyed her like she were mental for laughing to herself like a psychopath.

Daria straightened out her trolley before she pushed it and herself through the brick wall.

She smiled when she saw the scarlet steam engine and glanced around the platform at her fellow witches and wizards. She'd never been around normal magic folk before. Her entire life she'd be surrounded by stuck up purebloods. She hoped she'd like them as much as she liked muggles, if not she decided she was going to give up magic and live as a muggle.

Daria had arrived fairly early so she loaded her trunk onto the train, before climbing up on a large crate and sitting Indian style to people watch.

She raised an eyebrow when a toad hoped up next to her and started croaking, and cautiously ran a finger down its spine, hoping it wasn't poisonous.

Then Daria spotted a large group of gingers a few feet away and a set of tall identical twins with mischievous grins caught her eyes first. She leaned in a little closer to try to hear what they were saying as a woman dressed from head to toe in knitted apparel started scolding the twins.

"Now, you two – this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've – you've blown up a toilet or –" she ranted, wagging a finger at the twins.

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet," one of the twins interrupted.

"Great idea though, thanks, Mom," the other twin grinned. Daria stifled a giggle so they wouldn't notice she had been eavesdropping.

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us," the first twin reassured.

"Shut up," another ginger boy grumbled. Daria looked him over. He was almost as tall as the twins but judging by his face, he looked to be about Daria's age. He had a black smug on his nose.

"Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" one of the twins grinned excitedly.

"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?" the second twin asked.

"Who?" asked the younger red headed boy.

"Harry Potter!"

Daria felt her jaw drop and didn't hear what the group said next. Harry Potter was going to Hogwarts? Was he going to be in her classes? Her mother would be furious if she knew that. Her mother never spoke well of the boy who lived, Daria wasn't sure why. Anyone who could defeat the dark lord as a baby was aye okay in her books.

Something bright caught Daria's eye, breaking her out of her thoughts and she looked up just in time to see a head of slicked back, platinum blond hair go by.

She narrowed her eyes into a glare as she immediately recognized the pale boy as Draco Malfoy. She had been forced to dance with him last night at one of her mother's ridiculous parties.

He had been a pompous brat and had been so busy going on about blood purity that he had even stepped on her toes a few times, blaming it on her. Daria had never been happier to be able to go back home.

Daria fished around in the pocket of her jeans until she found a firecracker she kept on her person at all times, for just such emergencies.

She placed the wick between her index finger and thumb, rubbing them together until she felt it spark. She had always had a talent for being able to start fires. She'd been told that her muggle father had also been a bit of a pyromaniac and would be immensely proud of her.

She quickly tossed the firecracker on the floor behind the arrogant blond boy and smirked as it started following behind him, before it slid under his robe and started sending off sparks, making him shriek loudly and take off in a sprint.

Daria nearly fell of her crate as she held her sides in laughter. A few others who had seen the fireworks started laughing as well, including the twins.

"Did you do that?" one of the twins asked as he came up and clapped her on the shoulder.

Daria tried to control her laughter long enough to fake an innocent look. "Not if you didn't see me do it."

Both the twins laughed as their little brother came up beside them.

"You're alright," the second twin grinned, "What's your name?"

"Daria," she smiled as the twins and their brother took turns shaking her hand.

"I'm Fred," the first one stated.

"And I'm George," the other one grinned.

"And this is our brother, ickle Ron," Fred smiled, pointing to his younger brother.

Ron frowned and rolled his eyes.

"Don't mind him. He's cranky today," George chuckled.

"So what year are you in?" Fred asked.

"I'm starting my first year," Daria replied.

"So is little Ron here," George beamed, "See, Ron, told you we'd find you some cool people to hang out with instead of us."

"And she's even pretty," Fred smirked, "Much too pretty for you, though."

Daria felt her cheeks turning crimson before the train whistle sounded.

"Hurry up!" their mother called.

"See you around, Daria," the twins both said in unison before they clambered onto the train.

Once they were on board, the twins leaned out a window to kiss their mother good-bye and the littlest red head, a girl, began to cry.

"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls," Fred reassured.

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat," George chuckled.

"George!"

"Only joking, Mom," the twins laughed before pulling their heads back inside the train.

Daria turned back to Ron, who was looking nervous that his mother might come over and start smothering him in kisses.

"You wanna sit together, Fireball?" Daria smiled as she hopped off her crate and started walking toward the train with him.

Ron shrugged. "I 'spose, but don't call me fireball, Carrot Top."

Daria snickered before she bounded up the train stairs just in time, because as soon as they were both on board, the train started moving forward.

Daria and Ron searched through several compartments, looking for room without any luck. Fred offered to let Daria sit with him and his friends but only as long as Ron didn't come too, so Daria politely declined and helped Ron continue searching.

They finally found a compartment with a lone black haired boy in it and glanced at him warily.

"Anyone sitting there?" Ron asked, pointing to the two seats opposite the boy. "Everywhere else is full."

The boy shook his head and Daria and Ron both sat down.

"Hey, Ron."

Everyone looked up to see the Fred and George standing in the doorway.

"Listen, we're going down to the middle of the train – Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there," George stated.

"Right," mumbled Ron.

"You can come too, if you want, Daria," Fred grinned.

Daria smiled back and politely shook her head 'no.'

"Harry," said George, "Did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."

"Bye," said Harry and Ron, but Daria just gaped at the boy in front of her as she heard the twins slide the compartment door shut behind them. Was he Harry Potter?

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out, voicing Daria's thoughts.

Harry nodded.

"Oh – well I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got – you know..."

Ron pointed to Harry forehead and Daria wanted to do a facepalm for him.

Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Both Ron and Daria's jaws dropped.

"Wicked," Daria grinned, "Can I touch it?"

Harry looked taken back for a moment as he sized her up with his eyes before he nodded. "Uh... sure?"

Daria's smile grew and she quickly hoped over to the seat beside Harry, making him jump slightly.

"I'm Daria by the way," she stated as she ran a finger over his scar, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Are you Ron's sister?" Harry asked as he looked between her and Ron.

"Nope," Daria answered, "Just met the bloke today."

Ron and Harry both started talking about their families and Daria quietly listened, hoping they wouldn't ask about hers.

When the trolley came by, Harry bought the lot and they all joked around while they ate their sweets.

"What are these?" Harry asked, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not _really_ frogs, are they?"

Daria chuckled. "No, but they're a pain to catch. Muggle chocolate is much better. But if you like hopping chocolate then they are decent."

"See what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa," Ron added.

"What?" Harry furrowed his eyebrows.

Ron went on to explain the collector's cards to Harry as Daria munched on a pumpkin pasty, before they moved on to Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

There was a knock on the door of their compartment and a round-faced boy came in looking tearful.

"Sorry," he said, "But have you seen a toad at all?"

Both boys shook their heads.

"I saw one on the platform but not since we boarded the train," Daria replied.

The boy started wailing. "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," Harry reassured.

"Yes," the boy sighed. "Well, if you see him..."

Daria nodded in reply before the boy closed the compartment door behind him.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."

Daria glanced down at the rat snoozing on Ron's lap.

"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," Ron said in disgust, making Daria snort. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look..."

Ron rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very used up looking wand. Daria was a little worried that it might backfire due to the state it was in. She could even see part of the unicorn hair glinting at the end.

"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway –"

Ron had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She had lots of bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she asked in a bossy voice.

Daria rolled her eyes for only Ron to see.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," Ron replied as the girl looked to the wand in his hand.

"Oh, are you doing magic?" she beamed. "Let's see it, then."

She plopped down in the seat next to Ron, across from Daria.

Ron looked at her in disbelief. "Er – all right."

Ron cleared his throat. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow – Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

He waved his wand but nothing happened to the gray, sleepy rat.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" asked the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard – I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough – I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" She said all this very fast.

Daria, Ron, and Harry all exchanged stunned looks. Daria made a mental note that this girl is what her mom would call a 'mudblood,' although she was certain that the girl wouldn't appreciate being called that and Daria didn't know the politically correct term for someone with non-magical parents.

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.

"Daria McVey," Daria replied. Ron shot her a surprised look and opened his mouth to question her but wasn't able too before Harry also answered the girl.

"Harry Potter," said Harry.

"Are you really?" gasped Hermione, "I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in 'Modern Magical History' and 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts' and 'Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century'."

'Stalker,' Daria mouthed to Ron, who tried to suppress a chuckle.

"Am I?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione, "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyways, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You three had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."

And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.

"Did her mouth ever close?" Daria scoffed after the door was closed.

"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron.

Daria chuckled. "Oh, she wasn't that bad. A little excited, but she seemed decent enough."

Ron rolled his eyes and threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell – George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."

"What house are your brothers in?" Harry asked Ron.

"Gryffindor," Ron replied, "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw _wouldn_ be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."

Daria sunk down into her seat a little further. The McVeys had been in Slytherin for centuries.

"That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Ron nodded before he turned to look at Daria. "Reckon you're a shoo-in. Your last name might as well be Malfoy. Those old pureblood families have been in Slytherin for ages."

Harry opened his mouth the question what Ron was talking about but was interrupted when the compartment door slid open.

Daria sighed as the boy she'd tried to blow up earlier entered the compartment; flanked by two thickset, mean looking boys. They looked to be Malfoy's bodyguards. Daria wondered if he had acquired them after the firecracker attack for good measure.

Malfoy looked right at Harry, ignored her and Ron. "Is it true? They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

"Yes," Harry answered stiffly as he looked at the cronies.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said Malfoy carelessly. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Ron gave a slight cough, trying to hide his snicker, since they had just been talking about the pureblood families. Daria smiled back at him in amusement.

"Think my name's funny, do you?" Malfoy scoffed, "No need to ask who you two are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."

Ron shot him a glare.

"You're wrong there, Malfoy. No freckles here, see?" Daria shot, pointed to her cheeks. "I'm a little insulted that you don't remember me though. Maybe it's because you're not stepping on my toes."

Malfoy examined Daria more closely before realization flashed across his face. "McVey? What are you doing with them? You should be in the Slytherin compartment with the rest of the purebloods. Not hanging out with this blood traitor," he motioned his head toward Ron.

"I happen to prefer the company here," Daria snapped, narrowing her eyes, "And besides, I'm a halfblood. I'd assumed you would have known that."

Malfoy's eyes flashed with disappoint for a moment but he quickly hid it as he scowled at her. "Never mind then. You are in the right compartment. After all, the Weasleys befriend any old rubbish, halfbloods and mudbloods alike."

He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

Malfoy held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," Harry said coolly.

Malfoy's cheeks tinged pink. "I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang out with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."

Both Harry and Ron stood up and Daria smacked her forehead against her palm.

"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered. "In front of you're filthy halfblood lady friend, no less? Trying to impress her?"

"Oh, don't worry, I'll be fighting along with them," Daria smiled sweetly. "Hope you don't mind getting the snot beat out of you by a girl."

Draco sneered at her.

"Unless you get out now," said Harry, bravely.

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some," Malfoy smirked.

Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs and let out a horrible yell as Scabbers sunk his sharp little teeth deep into Goyle's knuckle. Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle howled and swung Scabbers around until the rat finally flew off and hit the window. All three of them quickly scurried out of the compartment, afraid that more rats were lurking amongst the sweets and Daria smirked when she saw the holes burned into the back of Malfoy's robes as he ran away.

A second later, Hermione Granger barged into the compartment, "What _has_ been going on?"

Ron bent over and picked Scabbers up by his tail. "I think he's been knocked out." He dangled the rat in front of his face to examine him closer. "No – I don't believe it – he's gone back to sleep."

"You know Malfoy?" Harry asked Daria as everyone sat back down.

Daria looked at the floor as she kicked the toe of her boot against it. "Unfortunately."

"Daria's from one of the ancient pureblood families. They're all related somehow or another," Ron added.

"God I hope not," Daria sighed. "I don't think the McVey's descended from the Black or Malfoy families. But my mother is friends with his father and I met Draco over the summer at a ball."

"I've heard of his family before," Ron replied darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."

"So Malfoy's dad is a death eater, then?" Daria raised an eyebrow. The whole lot of them seemed like a bunch of creeps.

Ron nodded his head. "Or at least he used to be."

"I don't think you ever really stop," Daria replied pointedly.

The compartment was silent for a few moments before Ron turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"

"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"

"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," Ron argued with a scowl.

"You shouldn't let him get to you," Daria sighed, "He was just trying to get a rise out of you two."

"He wouldn't be so brave if it wasn't for his two cronies," Harry scoffed.

"Could you two leave so we can change?" Ron asked, giving both the girls an annoyed look.

Daria grabbed her robes and went to follow Hermione out.

"All right – I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"

Daria snorted and Ron glared at the two girls as they left the compartment.

"Come on, you can use my compartment to change," Hermione smiled as she led her down the corridor.

Daria followed Hermione, not really paying attention to where she was going until someone bumped into her, causing her to fall down on her backside.

"Damnit, McVey. Watch where you're going," Malfoy sneered as he stood over her.

"You're an asshole. You know that?" Daria scowled as she pulled herself back up.

Malfoy look taken back for a moment before he stuck his nose up in the air like the smell of her half muggle blood had offended him, and strutted away, his two lackeys on his heels.

"Do you believe that guy?" Daria asked as she watched him walking away in disbelief.

"I think he likes you," Hermione giggled, causing Daria to shoot her a glare.

"Could have fooled me," Daria rolled her eyes before she continued to follow the bushy haired girl.

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**A/N: So what did you think? Did you like it? Think I should make more? Leave me a review ;)**


	2. The one with Fred

**A/N: For those of you that have read chapters 63-68 in 'Love Got In The Way Of What Wasn't Meant To Be', there is no new material here. It's just a compilation of all the Fred and Daria flashbacks.**

**These are scenes from Daria's third year and there are spaces of time between each scene that last anywhere from a few moments to a few weeks.**

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_Daria sat Indian style on the grass in the middle of her backyard, polishing her new Nimbus 2001. Her mother had purchased it for her that summer after finding out that Daria had made her house's quidditch team. At first Fauna hadn't been thrilled about her daughter playing for the Gryffindor team, since her family had been in Slytherin for centuries, but had finally decided that she wouldn't have her daughter be seen on one of the school's old Cleansweeps. Daria tried not to be bogged down by the fact that she had the same type of broom as all the members of the Slytherin team. She was sure this was no coincidence, her mom had surely heard about Lucius Malfoy's generous donation._

_Daria jumped when she heard a loud thump next to her and looked to see a large grey owl lying on the ground. She raised an eyebrow and cautiously poked it with her index finger, causing it to startle and hop back into its feet. The sudden movement made Daria let out a surprised gasp and scoot away a few inches._

_Once the owl was upright she immediately recognized it as the owl that always delivered Ron's letters, Errol._

_Daria smiled as she untied the letter on Errol's leg and scratched his head affectionately before he flew off again in a zig-zag flight pattern, narrowly missing a light post._

_Daria examined the letter and immediately realized that it wasn't addresses in Ron's familiar, messy scrawl. She felt her heart jump up into her throat. It couldn't be from him, could it?_

_She hurriedly tore open the envelope and pulled out the parchment inside, scanning over the writing._

'Red,

We just got back from Egypt this morning and it was a blast. I thought about you a lot, especially when George and I put beetles in Bill's soup. It was even funnier than the time you did it to Goyle. We should really use your suggestions more often; they are bloody brilliant.

All of us are going to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow. Ron already let Harry and Hermione know, so they should be there too. We'd all love to see you there as well, especially me.'

_Daria couldn't remember how to breathe._

'Try to talk your mom into letting you come alone. I know how she feels about us 'blood traitors.' We'll be at the Leaky Cauldron at ten.

Hope you can make it.

Fred

P.S. – Sorry it's such short notice. Ron sent a letter to Harry and Errol didn't find his way back for a bloody week'

_Daria felt her grin start consuming her face. Fred wanted to meet her at Diagon Alley... not Ron... Fred. She held back a girly squeal as it bubbled up into her throat._

_She had had a crush on Fred since... well she couldn't even remember... probably since first year? She loved the twins endlessly, but Fred had always gone out of his way to be nice to her and he always knew just what to say or do to make her smile. Ron may have been her best friend, since he was in her year and she saw him all the time, but if she was in the twin's year then she was sure their possibilities for mischief would be endless._

_Daria carefully tucked the letter into her pocket and hurried inside to try to convince her warden to let her go._

* * *

_Daria grabbed her wand and tip toed out of her room and down the stairs._

_Her mother had banned her from going to Diagon Alley alone because she rightly suspected that Daria was planning on meeting her friends. So Daria was breaking out._

_She made it to the fireplace and stopped to listen for any signs that she might have woken her mother, but the old house was silent._

_Daria grabbed a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace._

_"Diagon Alley," Daria whispered, before throwing down the powder and disappearing into the flames._

_She appeared in the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron and dusted off her muggle clothes as she stepped out._

_Daria glanced up at a large clock on the wall and saw that she still had a few hours before the Weasleys showed up, so she decided to go browse some of the shops. She had already purchased all of her school supplies with her mother a few weeks ago._

_Her first stop was the broom store to do a bit of perusing and to find out what kind of brooms she'd be competing against this year in quidditch._

_When she entered the store, the window display immediately caught her attention. She gaped at the beautiful Firebolt. She had seen it in an article in the Daily Prophet earlier that summer but didn't expect to see it on the shelves this quickly._

_"Bit pricey for you? Eh, McVey?"_

_Daria didn't even have to turn her head to recognize the familiar Slytherin voice, so she didn't._

_"Didn't your mother lose all her inheritance when she married that muggle? Looks like you're stuck with the Cleansweep again this year," he stated smugly._

_Daria's face was void of emotion as she ran her fingers over the sleek Firebolt handle. "Actually, I got a new Nimbus over the summer."_

_He flinched slightly at her quick response, making a small smile creep onto her lips._

_"Shouldn't you be off harassing first years? Or is it too difficult without your two goons?" she asked as she finally turned to look at him and for a moment, she was taken back by him._

_Draco had changed over the summer... a lot. His platinum blond hair was no longer slicked back and stiff; instead, it hung loosely above his eyebrows. His face was slightly more defined, but it had always been pointed and chiseled, and he had definitely grown a few inches by the way he towered over her._

_Draco shrugged. "They're too hard to identify the little buggers before they've been sorted. How am I to know if they'll be put in Slytherin or not?"_

_"The horns should be a dead give away," Daria shot with a playful smile._

_"Guess I'll just have to settle for pestering you," he smirked, ignoring her comment._

_"I feel so special," Daria rolled her eyes before moving over to the gloves section. He followed her._

_She picked up a pair of dragon hide chaser gloves and tried them on._

_"You should try unicorn hair. It's more durable," he stated._

_She raised her eyebrow. "What? Are you an expert on chaser equipment now or something?"_

_"I just thought it might help since my team seems to target you specifically. It can really protect from bludgers," he stated with a shrug._

_Daria picked up a pair of the unicorn hair gloves and examined them. "I should really invest in a unicorn hair helmet then."_

_He snorted and she turned to look at him curiously before he covered it with a look of indifference. "It's probably because of your hair. It's like waving a red cape in front of a bull."_

_"You know that's a muggle thing right?" she cocked an eyebrow and smiled in amusement at the look of repulsion on his face._

_"Red! There you are!"_

_Daria and Draco both looked up to see two tall redheads coming their way, one waving very enthusiastically._

_Daria grinned broadly and waved back before she felt Fred's arms lock around her in a bone-crushing hug._

_As he released her, she glanced back to see that Draco had disappeared. She momentarily started thinking about batman before George snapped her out of her thoughts. "Trying to find some full body gear?"_

_Daria chuckled. "No, just some new gloves. Mine got the stuffing kicked out of them last season. Those Slytherin beaters are relentless."_

_"Well, that's what you got us for," Fred grinned. "Just as long as Harry doesn't get attacked by a possessed bludger again this year, then you should be in the clear."_

_"Well that still leaves Flint to contend with," Daria pointed out as she took the unicorn hair gloves to the check out counter. "So what's the plan for today, boys?"_

_Daria paid and turned to see that now only Fred was with her and wondered why everyone kept disappearing today... Not that she was complaining._

_"Oh, I've got a few ideas up my sleeves," Fred grinned as he showed her a handful of magical firecrackers._

_Daria beamed. "You know me so well."_

_Daria and Fred hurried out of the broom store and scanned the street for their first victim._

"_Fred!"_

_Both of them looked up as Molly Weasley bustled toward them with Ginny and Percy in tow._

"_There you are! You and George were supposed to help us with the school shopping," Mrs. Weasley scolded before she noticed Daria. She smiled and pulled Daria into a hug. "Oh Daria, its so good to see you again, dear."_

"_You too, Mrs. Weasley," Daria smiled when she was finally released._

"_Well I suppose I can let you off the hook this time since Daria is here," Molly told Fred. "Where's your brother?"_

_Fred pointed a finger at Percy. "His highness is right over there."_

"_You know I was talking about George," Mrs. Weasley shot._

"_Haven't seen him," Fred shrugged, "Maybe he's hiding in Percy's big hat."_

"_Never mind," Molly sighed. "Come on, Ginny, Percy."_

_Fred watched as part of his family walked away, and Daria watched as a mischievous grin spread across his face as soon as his mother's back was turned._

_When they were a few feet away, Fred quickly snuck up and dropped a firecracker in Percy's hood, before scurrying back to Daria's side._

"_You know what to do," he nodded to her when Percy was several yards away._

"_I can't even see it," Daria argued, "And he's pretty far away now."_

"_That way he won't suspect us," Fred smiled as he looked down into her eyes. "I know you can do it, Red."_

_Daria blushed and quickly looked away, making him chuckle, before she turned to look at Percy's retreating form and focused on his cloak hood. She tried to visualize the firecracker but it was hard since it was tucked so deeply inside of his hood, so when she snapped her fingers to try to light it, his whole hood caught fire._

_Percy shrieked loudly and started smacking himself on the back to try to put out the flames before a burst of red sparks started shooting up behind his head._

_Daria giggled at the sight before her and looked over to see that Fred was literally on the ground._

_Daria watched as Mrs. Weasley helped Percy get his cloak off and put out the flames, before she turned to Fred and reached out a hand to help him up._

"_Any particular reason we're picking on Percy today?" Daria laughed as he grabbed her hand and pulled himself back up._

"_Didn't you hear?" Fred grinned, "Percy is Head Boy this year."_

_Daria grinned back and tried not to overanalyze the fact that he was still holding onto her hand._

* * *

"_Daria..."_

_Daria groaned and rolled over in her bed._

"_Daria..."_

"_Humph."_

"_Daria..."_

"_Go away, Hermione," Daria mumbled into her pillow._

_Daria shot up when she heard masculine chuckling and opened her mouth to scream when she saw a tall, dark figure looming over her._

_A warm hand quickly covered her mouth, muffling her scream. "Daria, relax. It's me, Fred."_

"_Fred?" Daria whispered, furrowing her eyebrows, "How did you get up here?"_

"_Suction cup fingers charm. I was able to climb right up the slide," he grinned. "Now, get dressed and meet me in the common room in ten minutes. I have a surprise for you."_

_Fred quickly slid out of the dorm just as Lavender turned over in her sleep._

_Daria could feel her thoughts buzzing around in her head but tried to bury them as she hopped up and started getting dressed. She threw on a pair of jeans and a fitted purple long sleeved shirt, before she pulled her cloak on and tried to tame her curls. They looked worse than Hermione's._

_She did a quick glamour charm, which help significantly, and brushed her teeth, before she quietly opened the dormitory door and flew down the stairs._

_Daria was a little surprised when she saw Fred, sitting alone in the common room._

"_No George?" she questioned. She hoped that he didn't hear the nerves in her voice._

"_Not today," he smiled before he reached out and grabbed her hand, leading her out of the common room. "Today, it's just me and you, Red."_

_Fred led her through the quiet, empty corridors and Daria wished she had checked the time when he had woken her up._

"_Fred, what time is it?" she asked as they walked._

"_Half past six," he answered simply._

6 am?!

_This was very un-Fred-like. He usually wasn't up until five minutes before classes started and today was a Saturday. On weekends, he didn't usually wake up until close to noon, much like Daria._

"_Where are we going?" she questioned, but he didn't answer her._

_Instead they came to a stop in front of the statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor._

_Fred approached the statue. _"Dissendium."

_Daria watched curiously as the witch's hump opened, revealing a dark opening._

"_Come on," Fred smiled as he climbed into the tunnel and disappeared. Daria hesitantly followed him._

_Once she was inside, the entrance closed behind her, shutting them into complete darkness._

_Fred's hand found hers again, this time lacing his fingers with hers, before he muttered 'lumos' and the tunnel filled with dim light._

"_Are you going to tell me where we're going now?" Daria pressed as they started walking down the long, dark tunnel._

"_Didn't you say that your mother wouldn't sign your Hogsmeade permission form after you snuck out to Diagon Alley?" Fred raised an eyebrow._

_Daria frowned slightly at the reminder. "Yes."_

"_I always find that Hogsmeade is so much better when it's not flooded with students. And what better place for our second date?" Fred grinned._

"_We're going to Hogsmeade?!" Daria exclaimed, excitedly._

_Fred nodded cheerfully._

_Daria felt the squeal escape her mouth before she could stop it and flung herself at him, pulling him into a tight embrace. He chuckled as he hugged her back._

"_Wait a minute," Daria pulled back slightly, but didn't release him, and furrowed her eyebrows. "Second date? I wasn't aware we'd had a first one."_

"_Well that hurts, Red," Fred frowned, pretending to be upset, "I'm sorry Diagon Alley wasn't as magic for you as it was for me."_

"_That was supposed to be a date?" Daria giggled at the look on his face. "It sure didn't seem like one. All we did was harass people with fireworks. You didn't even try to kiss me or anything."_

_Daria saw something flash across Fred's eyes, something she recognized as realization, as he looked down into her eyes. She felt her cheeks warming as she noticed just out close they were._

"_I didn't know you wanted me to," he stated seriously. Daria didn't think she had ever heard him be serious in the two years she had known him and it made her breath catch in her throat._

_She felt her cheeks redden even further as he bent down to close the foot of space between them, and she closed her eyes as he gently brought his lips to hers._

_Daria hoped he couldn't feel her heart pounding inside of her chest as her lips began to move with his and he pulled her closer._

_It was over as quickly as it had begun, and Fred chuckled as he pulled away. "And now onto date numero dose," he grinned as he grabbed her hand again and continued leading her down the tunnel._

* * *

_"It's missing something," Daria hummed as she smoothed out some snow on the snowman's abdomen._

_"You mean besides a head?" George chuckled as he stabbed a stick into the side of the snow sculpture for an arm._

_Daria nodded absently as she held her chin in her hand and examined the headless snowman that her and George had been building. Keep in mind, that the poor sculpture wasn't meant to be headless, it just wasn't as high on their priority list as, lets say, shoes, which she suspected had been stolen from Fred- she hadn't questioned him when George had appeared, snickering, holding a pair of rather large shoes and suggested that they build a snowman on top of them._

Whack!

_Daria stumbled sideways as something cold and wet hit her right in the ear and thanked Merlin that her toboggan had earflaps._

_Daria shot a glare in the direction of the chuckling red head._

_"Sorry about that, Red," Fred apologized between gasps of laughter, "I was aiming for George."_

_"Then you have terrible aim," Daria stated as she scooped up a handful of snow and launched it at her still laughing boyfriend, hitting him square on the forehead._

_"Hey!" Fred objected as he rubbed his forehead, "That bloody hurt. I said I was sorry."_

_"And you're a terrible liar," Daria snorted as she hurled another ball of snow in his direction, but this one he expected and easily dodged._

_"Oh now you're just asking for it," he grinned before tossing a second snowball, this time clearly aiming for her, before ducking behind a statue for cover._

_Daria jumped behind the snowman, that George was still working on, as another snowball came whizzing her way._

_"Hey! Leave Sir Headless Fred out of this!" George objected while chuckling._

_"Why is the disfigured snowman named after me?" Fred called from his makeshift bunker as a snowball collided with the stone statue._

_"No particular reason," George grinned as he summoned a stick for the second arm._

_"Hey! Are those my shoes?!" Fred exclaimed as he poked his head out to launch another snowball in Daria's direction, but this one hit George, causing him to trip and wedge the stick into the snowman's bottom section._

_Daria heard a thud as Fred fell onto the snow-covered ground in a fit of laughter, and she took the opportunity to move around the snowman and help George up._

_As George brushed the snow off his clothes, Daria examined the snowman and the stick that was now in a rather unfortunate place._

_"That's it!" Daria exclaimed. "That's what he was missing!"_

_Fred finally composed himself and came up and put an arm around her shoulders. "What? An unbelievably long-"_

_"A broom!" Daria interrupted._

_"Yeah, that's not the first thing I thought of," Fred chuckled, earning him an elbow in the gut from Daria._

_Daria summoned a few twigs and arranged them behind the snowman as a broom tail._

_"I still think it looks like a giant-"_

_"Yes, yes. We all know what you think it looks like," Daria rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her amused smirk._

* * *

_"So, Daria, why aren't you at Hogsmeade?" George asked as he worked to build Sir Headless Fred a head._

_Daria was sitting on a stone bench and Fred was lying beside her with his head in her lap, while she gently messed with his hair. His concentration was on a firecracker in his hands as he tried to light it like Daria could, but he wasn't having much luck._

_"My mom wouldn't sign my permission slip," she shrugged, "Her highness didn't like that I snuck out to Diagon Alley over the summer to see Fred."_

_George glanced over at her and for the first time noticed her and Fred's overly friendly position. He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked away._

_"Well, you know, we could always sneak you out," he stated with a mischievous grin._

_"No thanks," Daria smiled. "Fred already snuck me down there once. It's Harry who could really use the help. Although, I think he might already have some stupid and reckless scheme up his sleeve. You guys should show him one of the secret passages."_

_"Oh, I think we might be able to give him a hand. Don't you, Georgie?" Fred grinned mischievously._

_"I do, Fred," George smiled back._

_"Damn it! This bloody thing won't light!" Fred grumbled as he snapped his fingers over and over again._

_Daria sighed in exasperation as she snatched the firework out of his hands. "Try it like this," she stated, before she placed the wick between her thumb and index finger and started rubbing them together to cause friction. After a few seconds, the wick lit and she tossed it onto the ground as it started shooting out red sparks._

_She pulled another one out of her pocket and handed it to Fred. "Don't hurt yourself," she instructed before she gave him an affectionate peck on the lips and stood up to help George finish the snowman's face._

"_So how long has that been going on?" George asked a low voice as he glanced over at Fred._

_Daria raised her eyebrow. "What? Fred trying to set himself on fire?"_

_George snorted. "No, I mean, how long have you two been official?"_

_Daria smiled as she tried to shove a carrot through the thickly packed snow of the snowman's head. "About two weeks."_

"_Oh," George answered simply, suddenly very interested in make the coal eyes level._

"_Arg!" Daria growled as she started stabbing the snowman with the carrot, "I can't get this stupid carrot to stay. The snow's iced over."_

"_Here, let me," Fred chuckled, suddenly appearing at her side and taking the carrot from her angry grasp._

_Daria sighed in annoyance and stepped back as she watched to boys try to wrestle the carrot into place._

Crunch...

Crunch...

Crunch...

_Daria glanced around, looking for the source of the approaching footsteps, but found nothing. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked down at the ground, smiling when she spotted the footprints trying to make their way around the group._

_She quickly nudged Fred and both boys stopped fighting with the carrot to watch the seemingly magical footprints make their way across the courtyard._

"_Well be right back," Fred grinned and handed her the carrot, before him and George both hurried off toward the footprints._

_Daria watched in amusement as the twins dragged an invisible Harry Potter through the snow before glancing down at the carrot and smacking herself in the forehead as an idea came to her._

_Daria walked over to Sir Newly-Headed Fred pressed her index finger against the middle of his face until a good sized hole was melted into it. She grinned and stuck the carrot into the hole, sealing it with some more snow for good measure. Then she removed her scarf and wrapped it around the snowman's neck before skipping off to find the boys._

* * *

_"So, you're dating my brother?" _

_Daria glanced up from her history essay as Ron entered the common room and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah... For the past month. Where have you been?"_

_"Well no one bothered to tell me, so I just wanted to be sure," Ron shrugged as he took a seat on the sofa across from her._

_"Why? You got a problem with it?" Daria pressed, still watching him unsurely._

_"Well you are kind of young to be in a relationship. Don't ya think?" Ron asked._

_"It's not like we're shagging or anything," Daria retorted as she continued on her essay._

_She saw Ron shutter out of the corner of her eye and open his mouth to reply but Hermione interceded. "Leave her alone, Ronald."_

_Daria shot Hermione a small smile before both of them went back to writing._

* * *

_"So how's Daria?" George asked, as Fred plopped down on his bed across from his twin's._

_Fred shrugged as a cheesy grin plastered itself on his face. "She's fine; a real firecracker, that girl._

_George snorted and rolled his eyes before continuing. "She's awfully young for you. Isn't she?"_

_Fred furrowed his eyebrows. "What? Do you not like Daria?"_

_"I like her just fine," George shrugged, "But she's only thirteen. She's thinking about holding hands and kissing. You're a fifteen-year-old boy. I'm pretty sure your mind is on something else."_

_"What are you, now—_her_ brother?" Fred chuckled lightly, "I can assume you my intentions are honorable."_

_"All I'm saying is give it a couple years," George pressed, "You've got plenty of time to romance her later. "_

_"Why does it matter to you?" Fred raised an eyebrow as he started getting annoyed with his brother._

_George bit his lip and looked away uncomfortably. "It doesn't. It was just a suggestion. I don't want her to get hurt."_

_Fred's eyes widened to the size of saucers._

_Fred could count on one hand the number of times he had had a moment of realization, but this was definitely the biggest one._

_"You love her," Fred accused as he continued to stare, wide eyed, at George._

_"Do not!" George shot, too quickly._

_"Yes you do!" Fred argued before he leapt onto the foot of George's bed._

_George immediately got up and moved away a few feet. He may have shared a womb with the bloke, but that made personal space even more important to him._

_"You're in love with my girlfriend," Fred repeated, matter-of-factly._

_He wondered why Fred didn't seem to be angry. George didn't look at him when he replied. "So what? It doesn't change anything."_

_"Well I can't keep seeing her now that I know that," Fred stated with a frown._

_"Yes you can," George objected, "I don't want you to break up just because I have a stupid crush on her. It's not fair to her."_

_"George," Fred started as he stood up and placed a hand on George's shoulder, "I'm not gonna let a girl drive a wedge between us. I like Daria. She's pretty and smart and funny, but you're my brother. I only have like five of those."_

_George chuckled humorlessly. "Don't worry about me, Fred. I'm a big boy. I can handle a girl wanting my twin instead of me."_

_"Sure you can," Fred smiled, but George noticed that it didn't reach his eyes, "But you won't have to."_

* * *

_"Evening, Freddie," Daria grinned as she came to a halt in front of him. "I came as soon as I got your owl. You know how I just love breaking curfew."_

_"Hey, Red," Fred smiled in return but Daria could see the uneasiness written all over his face. He glanced around nervously at the dark hallway, "Think we could get a little bit more light around here?"_

_"Sure," Daria nodded as she looked around at the four wall mounted torches nearest them before lighting each of them individually._

_Fred smiled down at her in admiration. "I definitely need to learn how to do that."_

_Daria chuckled and shook her head. "You'd use it to set fire to people."_

_"Like you wouldn't," Fred snorted._

_"Is that why you owled me?" Daria raised her eyebrow and frowned when his face suddenly went serious._

_"No," he replied solemnly, "I owled you so we could talk."_

_Daria felt her stomach drop as she watched him unsurely._

_"I think it might be better if we went back to being friends," he stated, suddenly very interested in a crack on the floor._

_The hallway went dark as the torches all burned out._

_"W-what?" Daria whispered as she felt her eyes trying to adjust. "Why?"_

_"Believe me, it's not you," he replied, as he finally looked up at her hurt eyes and instantly regretted it. "Its just—well—you're awfully young, you know? Two years is a big age difference."_

_"Have you been talking to Ron?" Daria furrowed her eyebrows._

_Fred shook his head, "No, I decided this on my own." He swallowed hard before he continued, "Maybe, we could try again in a few years when you're older. Until then, we can be friends... right?"_

_"Yeah," Daria internally cringed when she heard her own voice crack. She took a deep breath before giving him a watery-eyed nod, "Of course. We'll always be friends, Fred."_

_Fred frowned and silently watched as she looked away and took another shaky breath._

_She willed herself not to cry before she started talking again. "I should probably go. My friends will be looking for me," she sighed, "Goodnight, Fred."_

_She didn't wait for his reply before she took off in the opposite direction, walking as quickly as she could without full out running. As soon as she turned the corner, she felt the first tear slip past her eyelashes and picked up her speed as she sprinted down the hall without a destination. _

_Daria felt the tears streaming down her face by the time she reached the doors leading outside and angrily tried to wipe them away before she pushed the doors open and continued running away._

_Eventually, she found herself lying on the short grass of the quidditch pitch, staring up at the stars as she tried to sniffle away the sobs._

_"Daria?"_

_Daria quickly wiped her wet cheeks before she sat up to greet the intruder._

_"Hi, Harry," she smiled as she looked up into his green eyes, but felt a tear glide down her cheek._

_He furrowed his eyebrows as he dropped down onto his knees next to her. "What's wrong?"_

_She shook her head as she wiped her face again. "It's nothing."_

_"It doesn't look like nothing," Harry frowned as he placed a hand on her cheek._

_"I don't want to talk about it," Daria sighed._

_Harry nodded and whispered 'okay', before pulling her into a tight embrace._

_Daria heard a sob escape her throat before she crumpled into his arms. She cried into his shirt as he patted her back and tried, silently, to help her nurse a broken heart._


End file.
